Nelson Institute researchers receive GHI awards to prevent spread of disease, cut carbon emissions

March 28, 2016 | by ANN GRAUVOGL

A Nelson Institute graduate student and a faculty affiliate are among the UW-Madison investigators to receive awards from the Global Health Institute (GHI), it was announced March 28.

Johnny Uelman, a graduate student in Environment and Resources and Epidemiology, will use a Graduate Student Research Award to focus on the effects of warming temperatures and droughts on West Nile virus as it affects Wisconsin’s human and animal populations. His goal is to prevent the proliferation of dangerous diseases on the planet.

Corbett Grainger, an assistant professor of agricultural and applied economics and faculty affiliate of the Nelson Institute, will use a Faculty and Staff Travel Award to study the impact of energy subsidies. Focusing on Indonesia, and how governments can eliminate them. “Eliminating fossil fuel subsidies must be a priority if greenhouse gas emissions are to be reduced,” he writes, but they remain a challenge politically due to support from individuals and industries who benefit the most from them.”

The Global Health Institute connects colleagues and communities to address complex global health problems through a variety of lenses. View the full list of GHI award recipients, which were presented to students, faculty and staff from across campus and to visiting scholars.

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